Bobby Holding

I listened a little bit today
while Mema remembered her brother Bobby.

He was an older brother who died when a young teen
of appendicitis.

She and Bobby were best buds.
Their mom gave them two old tubs,
and with sticks,
they would sit under a big old tree in the yard,
and bang on those tubs.
They would sing and yodel all afternoon!
Mema's eyes were twinkling when she was telling me this.

Her brothers and sister would play in the early evening
under the street lights.
They would play hide-go-seek and tag
with the light as their base.

One evening, Bobby just sat by the light post
and would not get up.
His stomach hurt badly.
All the kids were very worried and went for Mom and Dad.
They took him to the hospital where it was discovered
that Bobby had appendicitis.
He later died from complications.

Mema always tears up when she tells me this story.
She says that she was heart broken.
It was a very long time that she played on the tubs
or sang at all, not to mention yodeling.

She still has such fond memories of her older brother,
and thinks of him and her childhood with joy.

"Kids today don't have the chance to play like we did.
They are entertained all the time.
I was so happy playing at the farm,
bringing the cows home when I was old enough,
and growing up in the country.
I was never bored.
Kids just don't know what they are missing."

(As much as I wish I had photos of the Holding children playing, I do not. THe above photo was found on the internet. If you have any old photos of Mema and her family, I would love to share them with the rest of the family!)